Two more property firms eye Manila Thermal plant

Two more real estate developers are interested in acquiring the Manila Thermal Power Plant, an official of the Power Sector Assets Liabilities Management Corp. said Tuesday. PSALM earlier announced that two property firms are planning to bid for the facility Froilan Tampinco, PSALM vice president for asset management and electricity trading told reporters that the four real estate development firms will be attending the pre-bid conference for the MTPP scheduled on Oct. 30. PSALM will auction MTTP on Dec. 19 this year. Tampinco said the four real estate firms are part of the 12 who have so far signified interest to join the bidding for the decommissioned power facility. The official said the real estate firms have the option to develop the land into commercial projects such as shopping malls or complexes. The PSALM official said they expect the number of bidders to drop during the bidding proper as the interested investors tend to form partnerships to increase their capability to win the asset being sold by the government. However, Tampinco said PSALM is more concerned with the capacity of the winning bidder to dispose of toxic materials normally present in decommissioned power plants. “One requirement we want the bidders to have is their capability on toxic material disposal," he said. Another requirement, he said, is that the group that will buy MTPP should be majority owned by Filipinos. Under the law, no foreigners should own real estate properties in the Philippines . MTPP, located at Isla de Provisor in Paco, Manila, is near SM Manila and other commercial centers. Since the plant is already retired, PSALM expects bidders engaged in the construction or steel manufacturing business, or those eyeing the scrap value of the MTPP’s equipment, component auxiliaries and accessories, to participate in the bidding for the decommissioned facility. Located in Ermita along the Pasig River, the MTPP, commissioned in 1966, has two identical generating units, each with a capacity of 100 megawatts. - GMANews.TV